Every year I take our Holistic Herbalism students to the coast to introduce them to the amazing and under-rated plants of that area. The coastal plain, which stretches from southern New Jersey down eight states to Florida (which is basically *all* coastal plain) and then west across the gulf states to east Texas.
The medicinal plants of this area are not as well-known or written about as the plants of southern Appalachia, where the Blue Ridge School is located, but they are still in use in many traditions, such as by Indigenous people, in southern folk medicine, and by the Gullah Geechee. And I have found several of these plants to be abundant enough that I can harvest and use them in my practice as well.
Of the hundreds of medicinal plants used in this area, there are three that have really entered my clinical practice, Prickly Ash, Bayberry, and Bidens. Here is a brief materia medica on these plants and then a list of other plants that deserve further attention.
Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis)
Prickly Ash is a fairly common plant of the coastal plain, sometimes growing weedy along fencerows and sometimes growing in the dunes almost at the ocean. This tree, which is usually around 10-20 feet high, has spines all along the trunk which, with age, turn into soft pyramidal bumps. It isn’t an Ash at all but is in the citrus family (Rutaceae), which can be evident from chewing on some of the green leaves.
The bark is the main part used and gives the same tongue tingle as Echinacea does, but even more so! The flavor is both stimulating (it is closely related to Schezwan pepper) and somewhat numbing, which is why one of the common names is “toothache tree.” It is chewed fresh or made into a mouthwash to numb tooth pain, much like the herb Spilanthes (Acmella oleracea, or Spilanthes acmella), which has an even stronger tongue tingle and similar chemistry.
It also strongly stimulates salivation, so it is a great herb for people with a dry mouth or lack of digestive secretions, perhaps in combination with some carminative herbs. This could be helpful for people with dry mouth and lack of appetite, who might have low digestive fire. Or it could help people who are taking pharmaceuticals that dry out the mouth, such as antihistamines, anticholinergics, and chemotherapeutic drugs.
But what I use it most for is to get the blood moving, to stimulate circulation. It’s so good at this it can be used for chronic cold hands and feet, or even Raynaud’s disease. That blood-moving property also helps with all kinds of joint pain and arthritis conditions, especially combined with a blood cleanser. Many traditional medicines use warming and stimulating herbs to help with the chronic joint issues. Prickly Ash can also be helpful in sciatica and shooting pain.
This moving property also helps move the lymph, which makes this a useful medicine as part of an immune stimulant formula for acute infections like a cold or a flu.
So many uses for just one plant – No wonder it was a favorite of 19th century herbal practitioners like the Physio-medicalists and the Eclectics!
Bayberry (Myrica cerifera, or Morella cerifera)
Bayberry, also known locally as Wax Myrtle, is also warming and moving, but is more subtle in its action than Prickly Ash and is also quite astringent – meaning it tightens and tones tissue it comes into contact with. Really everything about the medicine of this plant is based on the warming and drying effects, so use it anywhere the tissue is lacking in tone and because of this, there’s excess secretions.
One of the main places I see this pattern is in the sinuses. You could use it for allergies, but not for the initial phase of sneezing and runny nose where Nettles and Ragweed could be helpful, but after the nose gets clogged and your head feels twice as heavy because of all the congestion. It’s not an antihistamine herb, but it helps clear out that congestion.
Or if you’ve let the congestion go on for too long and now there’s a sinus infection. Combine Bayberry with antimicrobial herbs like Oregon Grape, Barberry, or Goldenseal to help fight a sinus infection. Then avoid all dairy, sugar, and wheat for a week.
Bayberry is also a great herb for gum health. When people get gum disease, the gums get pale and puffy and pull away from the roots of the teeth, exposing them to the bacteria that cause cavities. A mouth rinse of this herb both stimulates healthy circulation in the gums while tightening them up against the teeth. I use the “Dental Delight” formula from Pine’s Herbals as a mouth rinse after brushing every night to help treat my gums.
And finally, it is a good herb in a formula for certain digestive problems. The pattern to look for once again is boggy and stagnant, so it could be used to tighten up the tone of the gut barrier in Leaky Gut or in recovery from a stomach flu or bad diarrhea to help reset and strengthen the lining of the digestive tract.
Bidens (Bidens alba)
And finally, there’s Bidens – also known as Beggar Ticks or Spanish needles because of the way the seeds stick into clothing. This strategy of spreading seed must be working because it is one of the most abundant plants throughout the coast, around the Caribbean and down into Mexico where it is called Romerillo or Amor seco.
Throughout its tropical range, it is used both as a cooked green when picked young, or as a potent antimicrobial when the plant is tall and flowering. Which is kind of amazing when you think about it, that one plant can be both a nutrient-rich food but then also be used to fight infections. An unusual combination.
Bidens seems to be particularly effective for the upper respiratory system and for the urinary tract, though it could also be poulticed topically for skin infections. It is both antimicrobial and antiviral as well as being somewhat drying. So it can be combined with Bayberry for sinus infections, or with Echinacea and Elderberry for general immune stimulation in a cold or other respiratory infection.
There’s also a long history of using it for urinary tract infections. For this, I would recommend combining it with Yarrow, Goldenrod, or Uva Ursi; then adding a soothing herb like Marshmallow or Corn Silk if there was burning pain upon urination.
MORE
These are the three popular herbs from the coast, but there is so much more medicine in this area – Life Everlasting/Rabbit Tobacco, Southern Red Cedar, Bacopa, Sweet Gum, and Red Bay just to name a few. To learn more, check out my book “Southeast Medicinal Plants,” or herbalists like Phyllis D. Light, April Punsalan, or Bob Linde who teach more about the plants of this area. And next time you go to the beach, keep your eyes out for the plants on the way!!